Historic Photos

With a photograph collection of over 400,000 images, the Kern County Museum is one of the largest repositories of historic photographs in the State of California. Approximately 180,000 images came from two donations: Dorman-Henley Photography and the Bakersfield Californian. In addition, large collections of images were donated by the Kern County Chamber of Commerce and the Kern County Board of Trade.

The Museum also has multiple images from renowned American landscape photographer Carleton E. Watkins who captured imagery of Kern County in the late 1880s. His photographs depict everything from early ranches, the Kern River, and canals to downtown Bakersfield.

The Museum is working to make its collection more accessible to the public by posting a fraction of its collection on this website. If you would like to order a copy of one of the images in these pages, contact Sarah Woodman at sawoodman@kern.org with the brief identification and description found below the image.  If you can't find the image that you want on our website, you may need to visit the Kern County Museum. Contact sawoodman@kern.org to make an appointment to view the extensive photograph collection. Appointments are available 9:00am - 1:00pm, Monday - Friday.

Costs for photograph reproductions vary according to size, intended use, and quantity. The Historic Photos Use and Fee Policy outlines the policy for intended use of the images, and the Historic Photo Fee Schedule outlines the fee structure.

Important Information and Forms:
Request for Study of Collections
Historic Photo Fee Schedule
Agreement for Private Use of Historic Photographs
Agreement for Non-Private Use of Historic Photographs
Historic Photos Use and Fee Policy

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Agriculture		 historicphotobutton9:
Bakersfield Businesses		 historicphotobutton13:
Bakersfield Landmarks		 historicbutton17:
Bakersfield's "Lost Treasures"
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Bakersfield Sound Images		 historicphotobutton8:
Bakersfield Street Scenes		 historicphotobutton2:
Black Gold

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Carleton Watkins' Images of Kern County
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Dust Bowl		 historicphotobutton11:
Kern County Homes		 historicphotobutton4:
Kern County Hotels and Motels		 historicphotobutton5:
Kern County Schools
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Kern County Towns and Communities		 historicphotobutton10:
Kern River 		historicbutton19:
Mining		 historicphotobutton3:
Personalities
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Railroad Transportation		 historicphotobutton12:
World War II		 historicbutton18:
1952 Earthquakes		 historicphotobutton14:
More Photographs

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